Up Close- TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300m Calibre 5 White Dial WAY2013

There’s a fresh take on the Aquaracer Calibre 5 for 2017 with this new model, reference WAY2013. Based on the larger 43mm Calibre 5 case introduced last year, this is the Aquaracer you know and love, but now with a minty-fresh white dial, black dial finishing and with brilliant orange highlights.

The white and orange combination is a new one to the Aquaracer range, with a silver dial/ orange combo in the range back in 2010 with the first Aquaracer 500m model (WAJ1111). Most watch fans associate these colours with the Rolex Explorer II, which won’t do the Aquaracer any harm. Most Aquaracers have either a blue or black dial with silver markers, so having a monochrome dial provides a fantastic contrast for the bright orange sweeping-seconds hand and Calibre 5 text.The Aquaracer 300m Calibre 5 range has two key model families- the sporty ceramic bezel models with large hands and either a 41 or 43mm case, or the more conservative steel bezel models, which have smaller hour markers and hands in a 40.5mm case. And this new Aquaracer? It’s a hybrid of the two families, using the case and dial design of the sporty ceramic models, but instead of the ceramic bezel we have a steel unidirectional turning bezel.

Adding the steel bezel to the sporty Aquaracer gives the watch a fresh, new look- as these beautiful live shots show well.

Case

As we’ve covered off above, the new Aquaracer uses the larger of the two case sizes offered for this model, coming in at 43mm. Regular readers know that our preference tends towards the smaller cases sizes, so 41mm would be been our choice, but we understand from TAG Heuer retailers that the newer 43mm case is proving more popular with buyers than its smaller brother.

The stainless steel case has a combination of brushed and polished finishes, as does the bezel- most obvious being the six polished studs on the bezel.

And speaking of the bezel, you’ll notice the engraved numbers are filled with black lacquer, unlike all other 2017 steel-bezel Aquaracer 300m watches which are lacquer-free.

Dial & Hands

While the combination of a steel bezel and 43mm case is unique for a Calibre 5 Aquaracer, the real talking point here is not the case, but the dial and hands.

The white opaline dial carries the usual Aquaracer horizontal streaks, while the hour-markers are black faceted and lacquered with white luminova. The black lacquer treatment extends to the hour and minute hands and look great- a very different look to the usual polished steel hands and indexes.

This black and white combination provide the backdrop for the bright Orange sweeping seconds hand, which looks fantastic.

Index fans will notice that the large 12 o’clock hour marker is a subtly different design to that used on the other 300m models. Don’t believe us? As you can see below, WAY2013 has a slimmer and taller 12 o’clock marker. Your friends won’t notice, but Calibre 11 readers will.

Caseback

The white Calibre 5 has the same standard steel caseback as the rest of the Aquaracer range and features an engraved divers helmet. Behind the caseback is the Calibre 5 automatic movement, which is supplied by Sellita.

Bracelet

Officially, the watch comes only on the standard Aquaracer stainless steel bracelet, although you could always add a rubber or canvas strap from other watches in the range.

And being an Aquaracer, the bracelet has a diver’s extension and micro-adjustment as you can see below, as well as a double-safety clasp.

On the Wrist

Just the one shot of the new Aquaracer on the wrist, but even from a single photo you can see how good it looks.

Price and Availability- Aquaracer WAY2013

If you’re a fan of the 2017 Aquaracer white dial, we’ve got two pieces of good news for you: the watch is on sale now and it’s very competitively priced. While the ceramic bezel 43mm Calibre 5 models on a bracelet are priced as CHF2,400, you’ll only pay CHF2,000 for this new model, the lower price explained by the steel rather than ceramic bezel.

And given that the watch looks so good, we suspect most people won’t care what material the bezel is made from. The combination of the crisp white dial, dark black highlights and bright orange hand looks a winner to us.

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Join the Discussion

Chalky

What’s “avant garde” about copying a Rolex Explorer II?

Oliver Schicht

i`ve got both and in my opinion they are totally different. the tag-heuer is also really stunning and a class of its own. good job!!

Jostein Brede Røer Nilsen

Not a huge fan of white dials, but this one actually looks very good!

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Founded in 2009, Calibre 11 is the Home of Vintage Heuer and TAG Heuer Collectors, offering unparelelled insight, analysis and new about the worlds of TAG Heuer. Offering the largest collection of Heuer and TAG Heuer Catalogues on the internet, Calibre 11 also offers collectors a unique database to search through your watch's reference number and history.